In 2014, Sabrina Habib was walking through a neighborhood in Mlolongo when she came across a daycare made from old mabati. Inside, the space was so poorly lit that she nearly stepped on a child. Unlike typical daycares filled with the sounds of playful babies, the children there were eerily silent and appeared to have little energy or interest in playing.
Her heart sank, but she quickly recognized an opportunity to make a difference.
Together with her husband, Habib launched Kidogo, an initiative aimed at improving the quality of care in small-scale daycare centers, particularly in slum areas. She trained daycare providers on better ways to care for children, focusing on keeping them engaged, stimulated, well-fed, and healthy. She also taught business skills, showing providers that high-quality childcare could be both effective and profitable.
Within a year, five daycare centers had joined the initiative. Ten years later, Kidogo has expanded to over 2,000 centers, most of which are owned by women. The initiative has benefited 50,000 children across eight counties, with the goal of reaching one million toddlers by 2030.
The network of Kidogo daycare centers now spans Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Kajiado, Kiambu, Machakos, and Embu.
Reflecting on her initial experience, Habib shared, “It was a sad feeling when I almost stepped on a child in that dimly lit room. Children at that age are typically playful and full of energy, so to see them so lethargic was disheartening.” She added that she felt compelled to help professionalize the daycare industry to ensure that children received the care they deserved.
In her research before founding Kidogo, Habib discovered that in some poorly managed daycare centers, children were sedated with antihistamines or even alcohol (chang’aa) to keep them quiet and less demanding on the caregivers. “This really hurt me,” she said. “I felt I had to do something, and that’s how Kidogo was born.”
Experts emphasize that 80% of a child’s brain develops by the age of three. Habib notes that poor daycare can have lasting consequences, including impaired cognitive development, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty in families.
